


The Amari Family and the Cheerful D Agency

by SemimaruNoSeki



Series: The Amari Family and the Cheerful D Agency [1]
Category: Joker Game (Anime)
Genre: Gen, joker game anime, spoilers for episode 7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2016-06-18
Packaged: 2018-07-12 23:58:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7129955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SemimaruNoSeki/pseuds/SemimaruNoSeki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A cute and peaceful story about Emma and her interactions with the D Agency members.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Amari Family and the Cheerful D Agency Part One

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own this story. The author (ゆいこ) of this story has given me permission to translate and upload her stories. For those who would like to read the original story and/or would like to leave a kind comment to ゆいこ, the source is right here-> http://www.pixiv.net/novel/show.php?id=6809919. Please enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer (from the author):  
> ~Contains spoilers from “Codename Cerberus”!  
> (I’ve read the book, but I plan to make sure that I won’t spoil anything from the series)  
> ~Doesn’t have BL.  
> ~Very peaceful.  
> ~Emma-chan is just simply getting a lot of attention.  
> ~If you’re too picky on the details, you lose.  
> ~The D Agency probably has several people on standby for emergencies.  
> ~Unlike the anime, Emma doesn’t speak fluently here!  
> Established speech to be like general 2 year olds, so she if she’s talkative, she would speak about two words at a time. (Ex: “Papa, hold me!”) 
> 
> Amari-san・・・Family Patriarch with one child and one dog  
> Emma-chan・・・2 years old. Amari’s adopted child. Loves Amari Papa. Little angel.  
> Frate・・・Amari family’s watchdog. Trained to be Emma-chan’s exclusive SP.  
> All of the Cheerful D Agency Members・・・active spies. Uncles who get dangerous heart pains from pure things.  
> Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki・・・Amari’s former boss. A grandfather figure to Emma-chan.  
> Sakuma-san・・・Job change from liaison manager to something akin to secretary for Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki.

“Papa~, wake up~!”

Sunday morning.  
He heard the pigeons coo. It seems today will be another peaceful day.  
Think that in a daze, the curtains were lively pulled open.  
The morning light pierced through his slightly opened eyes.  
Ah, he didn’t want to wake up.

“Pa~pa~!”

His beloved daughter, Emma, was shaking his body with all her might.

“Uu~...I’ll wake up, I’ll wake up…”

Restlessly stirring around, he then managed to bring himself up.  
Mornings are tough. Recently he’s been thinking that, but it wasn’t bad to wake up to his cute daughter like this.

“Good morning, Emma.”

Smoothing the hair up away from his eyes, he gently smiled at his daughter.

“Morning.”

His 2 year old daughter joyfully smiled.  
With sparkling sapphire eyes, copper brown hair, white ceramic skin, Emma was a pure Englishwoman. She was his adopted daughter, in no way was she related to him.  
It has already been three months since he took her under his wing after that unexpected case. Their life in Hawaii has been all too favorable.  
Long ago, he wouldn’t have imagine this happening, but now he’s been leading a life where Emma could even wake him up like this.

“Well then, I promised we would go on a picnic today, didn’t I.”

It happened the moment as he slowly got up to his feet.

“A visitor!”

Surprised by her voice, he raised his line of vision.  
The door to his bedroom was thrown open open. At the door’s entrance was the figure of a man leaning on its frame.  
The man loosened his lips and fearlessly smiled.  
And at that moment, he realized his momentous mistake.  
That’s right, in the morning he wasn’t supposed to hear pigeons. But the chirps of sparrows….  
He should have realized it by then.  
Of the existence of a certain secret agency’s pigeon master who singlehandedly reared these birds and exhibited them as entertainment for magic, from the rumors it seems he also uses them as a source of communication for his missions.

“Tazaki….”  
“I’m quite perplexed. I was given the mission, but I never knew you would turn out like this.”  
“A mission?”  
“A message from Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki. ‘All members are required to return immediately.’ By all members I thought it was the others, but he must has meant this little lady?”

…As expected of the Demon King.  
Although Amari succeeded his given mission, it seems he was thoroughly investigated after ignoring Yuuki’s order to come back.  
He was a pro spy. He made sure not to leave much of a trace behind, but it would seem he was no match for him.  
Heaving a heavy sigh, he raised both of his arms.  
This was his loss.

“However our pet dog also has to come with us.”

And so the Amari Family was forcibly taken back home to Japan.

* * *

 

The moment Amari returned with a child (and dog), his family instantly became the hot topic.  
With the exception of Tazaki, who was given the mission of bringing him back, the ones who were stationed at the Greater East Asia Cultural Society, Hatano and Fukumoto, were extremely surprised.

By the time he and Emma were liberated from Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki’s sudden call, the sun had long since set so they were now receiving Fukumoto’s meal.  
Situated at the dining table were the Amari Family (the main topic of the day), Tazaki, Hatano, Fukumoto, and Sakuma, who recently became a secretary of some sorts for Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki.

“Still, I didn’t think Amari would bring back a child…”  
“Well~, I never expected it would turn out this way. But, I should take responsibility for my actions, shouldn’t I?”  
“The way you say it sounds like you cajoled a woman.”  
“That would’ve been a lot simpler.”

He spontaneously smiled at Hatano’s comment.  
For long-term duties, he would arrange a ‘family for him as camouflage on the field. Although it may be heartless of him to say this, but in those cases he could push the family onto the wife and leave without another word. However, this child had no such parent. As long as her mother worked as an enemy spy, surely they wouldn’t be able to expect a peaceful livelihood. There was no mistaking he had an opportunity to dispel the loneliness away.  
In addition, the responsibility of providing the solution from the deviation of his mission to ‘not allow McLeod into the country’ didn’t lie in the spy facade of Utsumi, but Amari himself.  
As a spy, he would have easily cut off Emma and Frate. However, Amari the individual, believed that it would remarkably impair his human nature.  
He will properly take responsibility.  
You can say he decided this because it was the natural course of action.

“But altogether it’s not bad, right?”

Tazaki teasingly said.  
He was absolutely correct.  
Right at his side was the innocent Emma, her eyes sparkled at the Japanese cuisine she had never seen before. With this child at his side, he learned the quiet taste of the previously unobtainable happiness. At first, he did it only as an obligation, but now there’s no mistaking he’s doing this as family.  
For the Amari right now, his first priority was his family.

“ーーーI sure can’t continue my job as a spy anymore.”

He couldn’t die and leave this child behind.  
That’s why earlier he declared to Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki that he was quitting espionage.

“So what are you going to do now?”

Still clad in his coverall apron, Fukumoto offered food to their pet dog, Frate.

“Through Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki’s connections, I’ll be working at a zaibatsu trading company. In order to sustain my family, I’m willing to become a businessman.”  
“You’ve become quite decisive.”  
“Well, I can’t become careless now, after all.”

Spilling out a small laugh, he took a sip of Fukumoto’s homemade miso soup.  
Ah, this was it. This was true Japanese cuisine.  
The flavor seemed to seep through his entire body.

 

“Ah, one more thing, we’ll be lodging in one room here, so we’ll be in your care.”

 

After Amari’s statement, everyone dropped their chopsticks.

This poor establishment didn’t have enough savings to rear a child for the spy Amari. On the other hand, for Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki, the leader of this poor establishment, not only did the premise of a freeloading businessman and his daughter provided the ideal camouflage, it was also convenient for him to take the Amari’s income as rent and allot it for funds.  
And so, the Amari Family moved into the Greater East Asia Cultural Society.

* * *

 

Next morning, dining hall.  
In there was Fukumoto, busily preparing breakfast, with Amari, Emma, and pet dog Frate.  
Hugging her black dog, Emma cheerfully hummed. With Emma on his knee and holding her pink ribbon between his lips, Amari struggled to comb her hair.  
“Come on, sit still.”  
Emma gleefully giggled as she heard his voice.  
Not expecting to see a bright scenery at a place like this, Sakuma involuntarily slackened his lips.

“Morning.”

“Ah, good morning Sakuma-saーーーーSakuma-san?”

He said it reproachfully as his tone dropped one notch.

Turning his attention away from Emma, his eyes sharply glared at him. His gaze was directed at Sakuma’s right hand.

Sakuma gasped and hurriedly put out the cigarette.

Since it’s been decided that they would be lodging here, Amari banned the members from smoking in the dining hall. The reason was simple. It was bad influence on a child’s education.

Just as he remember this, Sakuma apologized without a moment’s delay.

 

“! My apologizes!”

“...Be careful next time.”

 

He heard that as a threat.

A cold sensation crawled up his back.   

So this was the same Amari who was previously rumored to have been involved with love scandals six months ago? Can a child really change a person this much?

As Sakuma was gripped with a certain fear, Fukumoto suddenly remembered something and opened his mouth.

 

“Come to think of it, should I prepare forks and spoons than chopsticks for Emma-chan?”

“Well, let’s see… No, it’s best if I teach her how to use chopsticks while I have the chance.”

 

Hearing their conversation, Sakuma strangely felt deeply moved, “Amari really became a father, huh.”

 

“If you like, do you want me to teach her? As an apology for the cigarette earlier.”

“That would be really helpful. Sakuma-san’s table manners are pretty after all.”

 

Finished tying Emma’s hair, Amari pushed her back, “Yosh, I’m done!” Emma then happily ran about with her dog still cradled in her arms.

Just then, a recently awakened Hatano entered the dining hall and caught Emma before she crashed into him.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

Hatano involuntarily blinked as Emma immediately hung her head as she apologized.

Amari unexpectedly taught her well.

While slightly impressed, he patted her on the head in small taps and kindly replied, “Be careful next time.” Emma energetically nodded.

 

“What’s his name?”

 

Crouching down to her level, he pointed at the black dog in her arms.     

 

“Frate.”

“Frate, huh. May I touch him?”

“Un!”

 

The dog turned out to be quite well-behaved.

He doesn’t relieve himself whenever he wants to and he doesn’t needlessly bark. He’s been well disciplined.

His fur was glossy and his disposition was amiable. Surely they’ve been taking very good care of him.

This fluffy situation placed Hatano in a good mood.

 

“Who takes Frate on walks?”

 

Amari answered that question.

 

“The truth is I’m fine doing it myself but… Unfortunately, I have to go to the office starting today. I can’t have Emma walking him all alone, so we probably won’t be doing that for a while.”

“Then shall I do it?”

“Hatano?”

“I’m not assigned to any missions so I’m currently free at the moment. Emma-chan, want to take a walk with big brother?”

 

He asked whilst tilting his head towards Emma, she immediately replied “Will go!”

For the ever so bashful Emma to get attached this quickly to Hatano and even volunteer to go out with him for a walk came as an unexpected surprise for Amari.

However with one glance at the heartwarming scene, he smiled, “Oh well.”

* * *

 

After breakfast, Emma made a request to Amari, “Put down.”

They didn’t have any chairs of her size, so she had to sit on an adult chair on top of a thick cushion. Of course, as her legs were just dangling in thin air, she couldn’t get out of the chair on her own.

With experienced skill he placed her down he helped her down as Emma took her plate with her. Seeing her teetering form, Sakuma and Hatano watched over her in confusion.

It would be dangerous if she fell and broke the plate.

In the first place, aren’t plates too heavy for 2 year olds to carry?     

As the two of them stressed uneasily over that, Emma took careful steps and courageously stopped before Fukumoto.

Fukumoto, who was wiping tablewares, paused his hand for a moment.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

He showed a puzzled expression as Emma glanced up at him.

She peeked over at Amari multiple times as if trying to confirm something. Amari gave her a bright, reassuring smile and big nod and she timidly offered the plate she’s been carefully carrying.

 

“...Gochisousama...deshita” (Thank you for the meal)

Bam!

Amari cheerfully listened to the gunshot that rang through the touched hearts of Fukumoto, who received the dish, and Hatano and Sakuma, both whom were monitoring nearby.

And so Tazaki, who just finished taking care of his pigeons, came back to a strange spectacle of three men clutching their hearts as Emma clinged onto Amari, who lifted her up while grinning down at the three writhing men.

* * *

 

The one whom Emma opened her heart to after Hatano was nimble-fingered Tazaki.

 

“Pigeon!”

“Then, how about this?”

“Bunny-syan!”

 

Not only did Emma become engrossed with his magic, but also his hand shadows in which he can freely change their shape within just a few combinations of his fingers.

Since Amari had to go to the company during the day, the standby agency were naturally caught by urgencyーーーin short, it became routine for someone who was off duty to play with Emma. Though very sociable to begin with, his interactions with Emma led Tazaki to feel a tickling warmth in his heart from her innocence and bravery and, like the three other men, became very affectionate to her.    

However….

 

“Emma-chan. Uncle, is going to work someplace very far away.”

“Far?”

“Yes. Very far away. That’s why, we won’t be able to play with each other for a while.”

“Uncle…”    

 

It seems his words managed to get across with the young Emma; with eyes wet with tears, she stepped closer to his crouching form and embraced his neck. Softly stroking her back, Tazaki closed his eyes.

It was only a moment ago when he was conveyed his mission of concealment into a dangerous territory. Their core principle was “don’t die, don’t kill”, but of course danger would always haunt their lives.  

….Indeed, he couldn’t die and leave this child behind.

He now understood Amari’s reason for resigning his job as a spy painfully well. Embracing that small body in his arms, he whispered into her ear.

 

“I’ll make sure to come back soon.”  

* * *

 

As if switching with Tazaki, Kaminaga came back from abroad.

Amari didn’t know where he heard the rumors, but Kaminaga laughed as soon as he caught sight of him holding Emma.

 

“I didn’t think it was true, but you’re really a Papa!”

“Thanks.”

 

Amari shrugged with a sarcastic smile, but he didn’t seem discontented by the least. Emma, frightened by the new face, clung closer to Amari’s chest.

 

“Kaminaga. You’re scaring her.”

“My, how rude of me.”

 

Hearing usual sleepy-eyed Hatano’s complaint, Kaminaga softly laughed.

Taking the hat off his head, he lowered himself to her eye level.

 

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kaminaga.”

 

As he calmly said this, Emma blinked and meekly nodded her head.

 

“May I know your name?”

“...Emma.”

“I see. So your name is Emma-chan huh?”

 

Seeing his bright smile, Emma finally broke out of her stiff expression.

Fukumoto then brought in a deck of cards into the dining hall.

 

“? Were you going to play poker?”

“Emma asked us to bring in a deck of cards for her.”

Amari wryly smiled as he dandled Emma in his arms. Those eyes seem to melt in sweetness.

Kaminaga was honestly surprised to see him with such a gentle expression.

 

“It’s a good opportunity. Show it to Kaminaga.”

 

Emma gave a tiny nod and performed a simple magic trick.

It was clumsy and he knew the trick right way, but for a 2 year old she was almost too good at this.

 

“You’re amazing Emma-chan.”

“Pidgeon! Uncle!”

 

Emma proudly stated, when he admirably praised her.

Pigeon? Uncle?

When he wondered what she meant, Amari explained to him.

 

“Tazaki taught her magic tricks as a parting gift.”

“I see. Then I should teach her something too.”

 

Come.

He said as he openly extended out both arms and Emma, no longer wary of him, gladly jumped into his chest.

* * *

 

Once it became 10 o'clock, Amari carried Emma to the bedroom.

As soon as they left, the dining hall immediately lost all brilliance.

With the exception of the Amari Family, Kaminaga, Hatano, Fukumoto, and Sakuma all gathered together and heaved a heavy sigh.

 

“So that’s the rumored Emma-chan… She’s certainly cute.”

“We know.”

 

All three men agreed with Kaminaga.

 

“She seems to be shy among strangers, so once she opened up to me I almost made the biggest victory pose of the century.”

“Right.”

 

Kaminaga continued as he crossed his fingers together and went deep into thought. His expression was completely serious. Plus, even Fukumoto was agreeing along.

Hatano suddenly burst into laughter,

 

“Sakuma-san, aren’t you losing to Kaminaga, even though he came in late?”

“So you thought so too…”

A gloomy, heavy aura loomed over Sakuma as he bowed his head.

 

“At first I thought she was only scared because how big I was, but….”

“That might have been partially true, but now she even opened up to Fukumoto.”

 

Hatano delivered the decisive blow as he maliciously laughed.

Presently, Hatano was the one who got along with Emma the most.

After all of their daily walks, she would go straight to him right after Amari leaves.

 

“Do you have any tips, Fukumoto?”

“Tips.... I try to make sure to meet her eye level.”

 

The D Agency training had them learn how to correspond to any people regardless of age and gender. There, he heard that a child… especially young girls felt daunted if looked down on.

 

“I see, eye level huh.”

 

Next time he’ll be careful, Sakuma engraved this in his heart.

 

“Ha… I sure don’t want to go on a mission.”

 

Hatano wearily slumped into the table.

Fukumoto and Kaminaga were also in a similar state of mind.    

 

“Tazaki just left earlier, but I already feel like I’m being pulled by the hair from behind. And if you mess up, you wouldn’t be able to return for 5 or 10 years. You won’t be able to see her at this cute stage, you know? Wouldn’t that painful?”

“We know.”

 

As the conversation went on, the programme of the night advanced on.   

* * *

 

Deciding to buy ingredients for lunch in the morning, Fukumoto strolled along the dike before turning his attention to the sounds of familiar voices around the riverbank.

It’s Emma, Frate, and Hatano.

At this time those three would take a walk. As he observed them from afar, he saw Hatano suddenly fall down onto the lawn of the riverbank. At the side, he twisted his body and rotated aroundーーーーan impressive break-fall.

Emma’s eyes sparkled and she began to insist something to Hatano.

  
Now then, could it be he’s panicking that Kaminaga would steal Emma-chan away?

If he’s just using his jujitsu speciality to attract her attention, it was nothing else but heartwarming.

After buying the ingredients, he passed by the road once more and Emma, who was still by the riverside, tumbled down. She then twisted her body and rotated herself aroundーーーーan impressive break-fall.

 

For her to learn that in a short amount of time, such outstanding growth.

Even when Tazaki taught her magic before he left the country, he only gave her a short lecture yet she still mastered it; could it be that Emma has some extraordinary absorptive power?  

Thinking that, he gazed at them in wonder as Hatano, Emma, and Frate came up to the dike, finished with the break-fall training.

 

“That was an impressive break-fall.”

“At first I thought it would be a good opportunity to leave an impression of myself, something like Tazaki’s magic tricks so she would remember me time to time if I leave on a mission. She’s still small, so if she learns how to break-fall the possibility of getting large injuries would also decrease.”

 

Though he didn’t expect her to learn it this quickly, Hatano continued with a nod.

 

“So I was thinking I should probably tell Amari that I want to properly teach her the basics of jujitsu. Since it’ll be helpful for self-defence.”

“Sounds good to me.”

 

As they began to head back to the Greater East Asia Cultural Society, he suddenly noticed something that this was the first time he walked back with everyone like this.

Emma had first raced with Frate up in front, but then glanced back at them, as if she remembered something, and ran back.

 

“Stuff, will hold!”

She held out her tiny hands toward the two large shopping bags Fukumoto held in his hands. He paused for a moment, wondering what to do, before he reached into the bag and pulled out a red apple.

 

“Then I’ll leave this to you.”

 

Seemingly satisfied, Emma firmly grasped the apple with both hands.

That’s right, children at this age wanted to be relied on by adultsーーーーthe age in which they develop the so-called sense of independence.

And like this, the innocent Emma would soon grow up.

 

“An apple? What are you planning to make with that?”

“Well, I thought I could make apple pie as a snack.”

“Heh~...”

 

He gave him an amused gaze and wicked, relaxed smirk.

It seemed he wanted to tell Fukumoto that he’s also quite attached to her.

The reason why Fukumoto decided to make an apple pie was ‘somehow, just because’* rather than for Emma’s sake. That’s why for this reason, he understood that he adored Emma more than he realized.   

 

ーーーIf Hatano is just using his jujitsu speciality to attract her attention, it was nothing else but heartwarming.

 

He contemplated those previous thoughts in his mind.  

So he too was trying to grab her attention with his special skill.

With a small wry smile, he watched Emma as she trotted out in front.

 

“Hey, Hatano.”

“Hn?”

“I’m also going to request Amari. If I can teach her how to cook.”

Hatano crossed his arms behind his head and smiled, “Sounds like a good idea.”

* * *

 

“Emma-chan started self defense and cooking lessons?”

 

Kaminaga inquired, surprised by the news, while Amari calmly affirmed his answer.  

 

“Nowadays it’s dangerous afterall. No matter how young she is, I believe it wouldn’t hurt to learn. As for cooking, if a girl doesn’t know how to cook, it could cause trouble for her later on.”

“I see. So the bridal training has already begun. So what kind of man will Papa give his daughter to?”

 

He inquired in a tauntingly bold tone.

After all he didn’t think this doting parent would easily send Emma off to be anyone’s bride.

 

“For the time being, she’s not going to be a spy’s bride. That’s a must.”

 

Though he pasted a wide smile on his face, his eyes told a different story.

Those eyes were saying that no matter what country they came from, if a spy ever came up to marry his daughter, he’ll uncover their truth identities and incapacitate them first.

Being a spy’s wife meant, in a good scenario, that their husband may suddenly go missing or, in a bad scenario, that their husband would kill her and their child to destroy evidence or get charged for being a spy.

Amari wouldn’t forgive himself for giving her such an unfortunate life.      

 

“My, how scary~.”

 

However, Kaminaga also pasted a smile onto his face.

 

“If necessary, I’ll also lend a hand.”

 

Surely he needed no other explanation to understand.

* * *

 

A few days later, Hatano firmly grasped Emma’s hands and vowed, “I’ll absolutely finish it as quickly as possible.” and left for his mission.   

And so, Kaminaga inherited walking duty and self defense lessons.

* * *

 

“Emma. Today you’re going to have to look after the house all by yourself.”

 

After reading the morning edition, he left it on the table and lifted her up.

It was unfortunate that no one else was in the Greater East Asia Cultural Society today. Well, to be exact, it wasn’t like no one was around, but he was hesitant to ask. Now that he thought about it, he might have depended on everyone’s good will a little too much.

When they lived in Hawaii, he would go to the casino for one night to earn one week's worth of savings. However, those one nights were long and frightening for Emma, so he would always persistently cling onto him the very next day.

It’s bad for this child’s upbring.

Just when he thought of that, he was then summoned back to the D Agency and was blessed with people who were more than willing to look after Emma. There was no better story than this.

 

“Alone?”  

As Emma’s expression sudden uneasy expression, Amari gave her a smile to not make her anxious.

 

“You’ll be fine. Frate will be here with you.”

“And Papa?”

“I have work today as well.”

 

It was too cruel to tell her to understand. Then, a plan dawned over him.

 

“I’ll give Emma a mission.”

“Mission!”

 

Emma jumped in response.

She absolutely loved Amari’s fairytale-like stories of spy missions. Of course he made sure to censor out the parts unsuitable for children and add in some extra drama.

On the back of a leaflet, he wrote down an impromptu crossword puzzle. He took into account the level of difficulty. As he wrote down the problems, he calculated the time she would solve the problems before he returned home in the evening. He also assumed the possibility of someone else coming home earlier than him and helping her with the puzzle, so he increased the number of questions.

 

“There’s an important secret hidden in here. I would like you to decode it.”   

 

After Emma did her usual send off to Amari, she returned to the dining hall and challenged the crossword puzzle all alone. With the picture books and an easy children's dictionary Amari had left behind, she became absorbed in her work. She concentrated so hard that she even forgot about the food Fukumoto had prepared for her earlier; Frate sulked and fell asleep when his young master failed to give him attention.

And before she knew it, the tired Emma jumped into the world of dreams.   

* * *

 

Kata-kata-kata.

 

In the daze of her consciousness, Emma registered the sounds of footsteps and woke up.

Did Papa come home?

Or was it the uncles that always played with her?

With these expectations, she opened her eyes, but instead she was greeted with the grandpa whom she met when she first moved in. If she recalled correctly, the person sitting across the table wore a jacket that matched his pants, but today he was only wearing his vest. Wondering where his outer garment may have went, she noticed a weight over her back and understood that the object was grandpa’s jacket.

 

Grandpa was making a scary face.

However, Emma, who's been dotted on by her many uncles, didn’t see grandpa as a bad man.

 

“You haven’t eaten lunch?”

 

A low voice.

As soon as she realized he was angry, she immediately apologized.  

 

“I’m sorry…”

 

If someone did anything good to her, she would say “thank you”, if she did anything bad she would truthfully say “sorry”.

Having been taught this, Emma reflected over her neglected meal.

Because back in her previous home, after the nights in which Papa didn’t return home, he got angry over the same reason.

 

“It’s now completely cold.”  

 

Glancing at the curry rice left on the dining table, he slowly stood up. As she nervously observed him, she noticed that he was doing something in the kitchen. After a few moments, the grandpa returned to the table with two spoons and a piping hot plate of curry rice.

He plopped the plate before Emma and slid the cold one before him.

 

“Truth is, I haven’t either.”

 

He relaxed his stern expression and spoke in a whispering voice.

Surprised, Emma stared fixedly at him.

He’s no longer angry.

That aside, she became excited from the sense of superiority she felt from their bonded secret.

 

“Secret?”

“Yes, it’s a secret.”

 

Grandpa poised a forefinger before his lips and skillfully winked at her.

As she thought, grandpa is a good person.

Emma laughed as the jacket over her shoulders swayed from the movement.

* * *

 

By the time Amari headed back home, he was an hour early than his usual time.

He was joined by Kaminaga and Fukumoto, who were returning from their short-term mission, he slouched his shoulders from his failed assessment.

 

“Assessment?”

“That’s right. I gave Emma a crossword puzzle. I thought either one of you would come home early so I raised the level of difficulty.”

“I see. Then I better hurry back and help her out.”

* * *

 

Kaminaga hummed and quickened his pace.

Even Fukumoto, who kept his pace at his side, had a softer expression on his usual; deadpan face.

His daughter is sure loved.

Amari felt his heart well up with fulfillment.

* * *

 

Opening the door to the Greater East Asia Cultural Society, he heard the lively footsteps coming in their way.

Knowing the owner to the footsteps, he loosened his lips.

 

“Welcome home!”

 

Emma welcomed them with the crossword puzzle in her hand.

Amari dropped his briefcase to the floor and firmly embraced his daughter when she launched herself at him.

 

“I’m back, Emma.”  

 

His ever so precious and beloved daughter.

Everyday at this moment, Amari was sure he was the happiest man on earth.  

* * *

 

“Papa, mission!”

 

The paper she showed him was oddly all filled out.

Even though he came home an hour earlier and no one was there to help her.

Amari made half of the problems for the purpose of having the helping D Agency members enjoy the puzzle. Of course he still gave Emma tons of hints, but he didn’t expect this.

 

“Bien hecho. Te quiero mucho!”

 

Emma confidently answered.

Surely she knew the meaning behind those words.

 

“Bien hecho. Te quiero mucho.”

 

Amari tightly embraced Emma.

 

Watching the two from the corner of their eyes, Kaminaga and Fukumoto admired the depth of Amari’s love.

After all that crossword puzzle had a total of four different languages: English, French, German, and Italian. Of course there were some difficult problems in which only they can solve, but the others were problems Emma could figure out herself. In other words, with the answer in Spanish and Japanese she’s answering it in right now, Emma knew a total of six languages. The two of them smiled, knowing how much time and love Amari spent on Emma.     

* * *

 

Bien hecho. Te quiero mucho.

Job well done. I love you very much.

 

ーーーThat was a message of love from father to daughter.

* * *

Afterwards, the three of them found a jacket left on Emma’s chair and after figuring out the powerful mastermind’s true nature, they all spontaneously glanced at one another.


	2. The Amari Family and the Cheerful D Agency Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! Here's the final chapter. I hope you enjoy it!

A few weeks later, Jitsui and Odagiri came home.  
It seems they returned on the same boat.

“Hello Emma-chan. I’m Jitsui.”  
“Odagiri.”

Looks like these two heard the news about Emma.

“We came from a faraway place, so we brought back souvenirs.”

Jitsui smiled as he handed her a doll set; Odagiri gave her several kinds of children’s storybooks.  
Though she was usually very shy around strangers, Emma was considerably thrilled by the gifts and therefore got attached to them right away.

Peeking out behind the wall’s column, Sakuma bit his lips in vexation. Emma has yet to act unreserved around him.  
And creeping right behind him was Kaminaga, who was also biting his lips in vexation. He was forced to yield to the recently returned Jitsui and was thus robbed of his job to walk Emma and Frate.  
The one who called out the two unsightly adults was Fukumoto.

“I’m cooking right now, so don’t just stand over there and sit down. Otherwise Emma-chan will laugh at you.”

Like the obedient Frate, with that single statement, the two men complied his orders and sat down.

* * *

Once it became 10 o'clock, Amari carried Emma up to the bedroom.  
As soon as they left, the dining hall immediately lost all brilliance.  
With the exception of the Amari Family, Kaminaga, Fukumoto, Sakuma, Jitsui and Odagiri all gathered together and heaved a heavy sigh.

“So that was the rumored Emma-chan huh…. She is cute.”  
“We know.”

Jitsui’s words was undoubtedly deja vu?, but cute things are cute. That was the truth of this world.

“Like when Emma-chan cooked with Fukumoto today or how she has a habit of following him with the tableware in hand after the meal; what is that? Is Emma-chan an angel?”  
“Yeah, true.”

Odagiri agreed without a second delay to the greatly perplexed Jitsui.  
It seems the two of them were already completely wrapped around Emma’s finger.  
“Also what’s this instructor role for Emma? Just how did this come to be?”

Odagiri inquired and turned to cooking instructor Fukumoto and self-defense instructor Kaminaga.  
Kaminaga answered in question behalf of Fukumoto and explained the process.  
It all started with Tazaki then continued onto Hatano, Fukumoto, and Kaminaga as they prepared for their future missions; they want to teach her something beneficial so that she would at least have something to remember them by. The truth was, these efforts were actually successful. Whenever Emma sees a pigeon she would sometimes mutter, “Uncle…” and she would often ask about Hatano to Kaminaga, the former successor of walking duty.

“I see.”  
“Also, Amari is in charge of languages and has already taught her six languages, so that post isn’t open.”  
“Six languages? What an amazing special schooling she has here.”

Jitsui and Odagiri hummed in unison.

“Let’s see… Then I’ll become her interpersonal communication instructor.”  
“Eh.”

Everyone but Jitsui shuddered.  
So to speak, this was a ultra sadist guide to become a ultra sadist.  
That pure, angelic Emma would turn into a little black devil.  
Oh god no, they couldn’t stop the cold sweat dripping down their faces.

“After all it’s becoming dangerous nowadays. We don’t even know what might happen to Japan later on as well. I believe the use of ‘communication power to create any ally in any situation’ to be useful.”  
“That’s true.”

So what Jitsui meant was that he was going to teach her how to win people over.  
Wiping away the sudden outbreak of cold sweat, everyone generally thought of it as a good idea and nodded along.

“Then what should I do.”

It seems that Odagiri had yet to think of anything.  
Seeing him taking his time to think, Kaminga wickedly smirked.

“If you waste your time thinking it over, the Demon King will take the rest.”  
“Eh.”

As if it weren’t big enough to begin with, Jitsui and Odagiri’s eyes grew wider.

“It seems he helped Emma-chan with her crossword puzzle. So she got attached to him at that time and now whenever snack time comes around, Emma-chan would go to Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki and share her snack with him.”

It’s unbelievable, isn’t it? He shrugged his shoulders.  
One time he happened to see them sharing snacks, but that man still kept that scary expression. He couldn’t understand how Emma managed to get attached to him.

“That’s why if you don’t hurry, the Demon King might take over the rest of the subjects, you know?”  
“Well that won’t be good.”

Odagiri firmly vowed to think of something tonight.

“Ha…. I sure don’t want to go on a mission.”

Jitsui slumped into the desk.  
All the other men except Sakuma agreed.  
Another deja vu.

“I’m quite jealous of Sakuma-san. You get to be by Emma-chan’s side all you want.”  
“We know.”

As the conversation continued, the night advanced on.

* * *

One day right after snack time.  
Emma tugged Odagiri’s pants, the man had been reading a book in the dining hall.  
What’s wrong?  
Surely it can’t be that she wasn’t able to climb on her chair.  
After all, Odagiri and Sakuma both cooperated in making a new chair just for her. They kept the height of the chair, but made it so she can climb the legs to her seat like a ladder. Amari was quite pleased by this, now Emma can climb in and out of the chair on her own.

“Read book.”

In her hands was one of the children’s storybook he gave her as a souvenir.  
Okay, Odagiri smiled as he prepared to stand up, but Emma tugged his pants again.

“Up!”

Her sparkling eyes gazed up at him.  
So it seems it was natural for someone to place her on their lap as they read to her.  
For a moment, Odagiri remained still, puzzled, before spilling out a laugh and picking her up.  
After settling her onto his lap, the girl with the weight of cotton candy joyfully cheered. Content by her reaction, Odagiri opened the book.

“Once upon a time…”

Subsequently, Odagiri was put in charge of reading books to Emma; his skill in reading these stories got him recognized to become her history instructor.

* * *

Soon afterwards, Miyoshi returned home.

Miyoshi cast a side glance into the dining hall and saw the lively spies… and Emma, who was in the center of it all, before continuing on ahead as if nothing happened.

“What was that about. So unpleasant.”  
“Well, it can’t be helped.”

 Jitsui grumbled while Amari smiled.  
This place was originally a spy training facility. Not a nursery.  
Amari was quick to notice that as the most prideful and especially conceited member of the D Agency, Miyoshi must have found this unacceptable.

“We might have depended on them too much.”

Amari gazed at the sleeping Emma in his arms as he muttered this. After that day, the Amari family began retiring to their beds at 9 o’clock.

* * *

“Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki, are you planning to make that girl a spy?”

Finished reporting his mission, Miyoshi sternly scowled at his boss.

“Spy? Certainly not. Women aren’t suited to become spies.”  
“Then perhaps are you going to marry her off to some aristocratic family and have her become a collaborator?”  
“Aristocratic families will soon be on a decline, therefore what value do they have? Besides, Amari wouldn’t allow it.”

Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki scoffed at Miyoshi’s sarcastic comment.

“Then what’s that all about. They’re all turning spineless due to that kid. You’ve always told us ‘don’t get caught’*, but instead I see the opposite situation occurring right now.”  
“Now then.”

With a small laugh, Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki slid two files across his desk.  
They seemed to be progress reports.  
When he flipped through them, he skimmed through the reports of their smooth advancements in their mission.  
Based on the contents and the precision of their intel, he concluded that this wasn’t a fabrication.

“These reports came from Tazaki and Hatano. It would seem the people whom you describe as ‘captured’, were planning to efficiently complete their mission and hurry back from abroad.”  
“...Impossible, it would hinder their mission.”  
“That is based on their skill. I went to inspect them once, however compared to before, they’ve matured into proficient spies. I’ve pointed out ‘don’t get captured’ signifies an obstacle that would obstruct your mission. In this instance where one’s purpose and motivation increased, this isn’t the case.”

Finding this amusing, Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki loosened his lips.  
In other words, Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki acknowledge that girl’s existence as beneficial.  
Miyoshi immediately frowned.

“Even so, Amari is a former spy. I was sure there was a rule that we remove any outsider who knows too much.”  
“There’s no doubt that this country will subvert and reform its foundations in the future. This is a contract in which I’m having him work for that time.”

Do you have any problem with that?  
Those words were indicated in Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki’s sharp glare.  
A signal that their conversation has come to an end.

“...No. Excuse me.”

Though filled with a noncommittal feeling, Miyoshi left the room.

* * *

Next day. Miyoshi gained a stalker.  
The criminal was a young European girl with red hair. It was a considerably sloppy pursuit taking into account that she was dealing with a professional spy. At first, Miyoshi just ignored it, but after this continued on for a week, he started to become rather curious of her intentions. However, no matter what he said, the person herself remained silent. At wit’s end, he then approached the guardian.

“What’s the meaning of this?”  
“Well, even if you ask me… I really don’t know either.”

Losing his patience by such a vague answer, he ultimately labeled Amari as useless.  
The stalker’s actions took a turn for the worse as days went by and she now began to impudently sit right next to him whenever she read a book in the dining hall.  
It would seem she wasn’t even trying to hide anymore.  
Even today this brazen stalker had yet to talk to him.  
Wondering what she was thinking about, he glanced at what she was eagerly reading: a world history book. The language was France. If he recalled correctly, her mother language was English and she was using Japanese for her daily conversations. They’ve raised and nurtured her well.

* * *

When it came time to eat, the girl would halt her stalker activities.  
Because she would go out to help Fukumoto.  
Although she was limited to chores that a child can do, she still bravely moved up and about from time to time.  
She unexpectedly did a lot of work, he observed in half-admiration, half annoyance.

* * *

Her acceptance from the D Agency members were favorably high.  
And it became clear at first glance that they were fairly conscious of her daily life. From what he heard, it began with Tazaki and now each of the members are giving her some sort of special education.  
Were they an ensemble of doting fathers?  
Even though he didn’t voice this insult, he noted that the girl never uttered a single complaint and happily did all the tasks as told; she struck him to be quite strong.

* * *

 It turns out Emma was the type to be shy of strangers.  
He figured this out soon after she began stalking him.  
Especially to Sakuma.  
Sakuma had cried that even though he and Fukumoto both met her at the same time, she has yet to open up to him.  
Now this was slightly pleasant.  
His lips pulled into an arching grin.

* * *

 Per Fukumoto’s request, he went out shopping.  
Emma naturally tagged along.  
Though she skipped and ran, she showed no signs of tiring out. Still, as expected, the length of their legs were different, so the distance between was steadily increasing.  
If this continues your pursuit will end in a failure you know, Miyoshi wryly smiled; he slowed down his pace just a tad bit.

* * *

 In the morning he just so happened to pass by the main entrance and managed to see Amari preparing to leave for work.  
At the same time, he heard the hurried steps of Emma running the floor above then down the stairs.  
Continue in that hasty pace of yours and I won’t guarantee that you won’t fall.  
Thinking that, he observed her run in a fluster before she tripped; just as he predicted.  
The moment he reached out to save her from any danger, Emma performed a perfect break fall and, like a gymnast doing their final landing, stood up and made a beautiful pose to finish all off.

“That was splendid, but do be sure you’re careful next time.”

Amari proudly smiled at his daughter before leaving to work.  
Nowadays 2 years olds are pretty amazing.  
Miyoshi genuinely thought.

* * *

This stalker life of Miyoshi and Emma continued on for one month.  
Kaminaga was given a mission to which he sobbed and cried, “I’ll bring back gifts! Don’t forget about me!!” before leaving for his journey, so afterwards everything generally became peaceful. However a sudden incident occurred on a weekday afternoon.

Miyoshi had just returned from his errand when he noticed no one was in the Greater East Asia Cultural Society; the only one there was Frate.  
He checked all the rooms, but there was no sight of the tiny stalker. Now this was strange. Everyone was supposed to be out today, so he heard she was going to be looking after the building all by herself.

“Frate!”

Miyoshi hurriedly called out the girl’s pet dog. Surely Frate would know where Emma went.

“Go!”

He swung open the entrance door and barked out a command, Frate dashed right out.  
Chasing after him, Miyoshi felt the uneasiness take hold of him as he imagined what could have happened to that child.

Frate led him to the dikes near the riverbank, a place Emma frequently came over to play.  
There, he found the young girl with red hair that’s rarely seen in Japan and a man carrying her with a hat covering most of his face. Emma was happily smiling. Miyoshi placed a hand over his chest and heaved a sigh, for the time being that she wasn’t in any danger.

“Emma!!”

When he called her name in order to promote caution in the kidnapper, Emma glanced at him with the widest set of eyes he had ever seen from her. On the other hand, the kidnapper noticed Miyoshi’s presence and faced him.  
Observing Miyoshi approaching him with the daunting wrath of a demon, the man placed Emma down and slowly took off his hat.

 

“It’s been a long time, Miyoshi."

 

The moment he knew the man with the charming smile was Tazaki, Miyoshi raised his right hand in the air.  
**SLAP!**  
A clear outline of a crimson leaf formed on Tazaki’s white skin.

“Whatever the circumstances may be, there are things you can and can’t do. If Amari were here instead of me, he wouldn’t let you off with just a slap!”

* * *

 Once it became 10 o'clock, Amari carried Emma to the bedroom… that was the previously established custom, but since last month they retired to the bedroom an hour earlier.  
And in the dining hall that had lost its brilliance, the D Agency members would have their daily night talks. Soon these meetings were dubbed the ‘annual meetings’ and tonight’s current participants were Fukumoto, Jitsui, Odagiri, Tazaki, and first time participant Amari. By the way, Sakuma was absent today.  
After today’s kidnapping case (a misunderstanding), Emma paid more attention to Miyoshi instead of the recently returned Tazaki and even requested to sleep with him tonight. Which is why today’s assembly included Amari.

“Well then, a word from today’s MVP, Tazaki.”  
“I apologize for today’s misunderstanding. Especially to Miyoshi and Amari.”

The full account of the case was quite simple. After suddenly getting called from his mission, he came to the Greater East Asia Cultural Society and found Emma all alone. He had just offered to walk with the bored Emma and then Miyoshi found them. It was truly Tazaki’s unlucky accident to be immediately slapped before he could even clear up the misunderstanding.  
Adding on to his bad luck, the crimson mark still remained imprinted on his face so everyone asked about it during dinner time and in spite of it being an accident, Amari created a brilliant smile and said, “If you really kidnap her, watch out for your carotid artery, alright?” He was honestly scared of Amari right there.  
Elsewhere amongst all the animated adults, Emma and Miyoshi were completely joined at the hip. In other words, Tazaki pulled the short end of the stick and became like a side dish to a drink.

 

ーーーHowever the main for tonight’s annual meeting wasn’t him.

 

“Now then, let’s hear a word from this month’s MVP, Jitsui.”  
“Yes. I’m Emma-chan’s interpersonal communication instructor, Jitsui. Let’s see… Since the beginning I’ve raised and nurtured Emma-chan with the intention of her using the ‘power of communication to create any ally in any situation’. I didn’t expect such a huge target to show up just when I took office, but I commend Emma-chan’s splendid abilities for taking her time to achieving her goal. I only supported her from the shadows with advice, but I’m honored that I was of help to her. Today we saw Emma-chan sticking close to her target, right? That’s the carrot to the carrot and stick approach. If she continues on for the night, Miyoshi will no longer become a threat to her, so no need for further worry. Therefore, I hereby declare that this strategy is now complete.”

After Jitsui’s lengthy, poison-dripping speech, Amari and the D Agency spies applauded and brightly cheered.

“What’s this? Tell me more.”

Finding out he returned to something quite interesting today, Tazaki immediately inquired without further adieu.

* * *

 Let us rewind back to a month ago.

“We might have depended on them too much.”

In response to Miyoshi’s cold attitude, Amari had announced that he and Emma would be returning to their bedroom a hour earlier from now on and left the dining room.

“Isn’t this the perfect opportunity for me?”

Showing up with relaxed lips that brimmed with confidence was Emma’s interpersonal communications instructor (aka Instructor for winning over people’s hearts), Jitsui.

“It’s my mission to develop her ‘communication power to create any ally in any situation’. It doesn’t matter if her target is a spy. Rather, this would be a good opportunity for her. If she gets Miyoshi on her side, she wouldn’t just be able to topple down a menace, but also improve her growth.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“Miyoshi being unpleasant to them means that he’s a disturbing element to this group. For us spies, we may call his existence a mole (a traitor within collaborators). A second rate spy would just eliminate him. But a first rate spy would…?”  
“Set up him up as a double agent.”  
“Excellent answer.”

Fukumoto, Odagiri, and Kaminaga (before given his mission) all unhesitantly answered.  
Content with their answer, Jitsui smiled.

“In other words, we’re going to make Miyoshi change over to our side?”  
“Correct. It’s all up to Emma-chan, but she has a chance at succeeding.”  
“Specifically, how?”

Compared to Kaminaga, who leaned forward, Odagiri and Fukumoto remained impassive. However, it was apparent from the color of their eyes, that they were also curious.

“She won’t associate with him.”  
“Ha?”**  
“I believe Sakuma-san used this as a good example before, but Miyoshi is like a cat, isn’t he? Though he hates being looked after, he can’t help but watch something that moves in front of him and is the type to become attentive on his end afterwards.”  
“Ah~.”  
“That’s true.”  
“Now that you’ve said it.”  
“We’ll utilize that behavior of his and have Emma-chan stick around Miyoshi’s periphery and even copy his movements. However, she won’t speak to him. She’ll leave that for the most effectual time.”  
“Effectual time?”

Jitsui paused to stress the importance behind his words.

“That’s when Miyoshi lets his guard down… in other words, when he calls out Emma-chan’s name. After enduring her cold attitude, he’ll get struck by her sudden affection as soon as he drops his guard, right?”

This was already the whisper of a devil.

The next day they explained their plan to Amari and set him in their system.  
And so Emma was given three top-secret missions from Amari: “Become Miyoshi’s stalker”, “Don’t talk to him until he called your name”, “On the day he calls your name, play with him a lot.”

* * *

“...I see. I’m glad my misfortune was of some help.”

Tazaki wryly smiled as he stroked over his red cheek.

“We were very close, but I was still worrying that the situation wasn’t turning out for the best. Emma has been looking forward to meeting you again Tazaki, so play with her tomorrow.”  
“I shall gladly take up your offer.”

Thus, the malicious plot ended in complete victory and was hushed into the darkness of the night.

* * *

Next morning, a gleeful Miyoshi entered the dining hall with Emma in his arms.  
Exerting their skills from the results of their training, the D Agency members create a perfect poker face.

“Since when did-....!”

Sakuma, who just showed up at the Greater East Asia Cultural Society in the morning, lamented that Miyoshi even beaten him.  
Seeing him in despair, Miyoshi flauntingly laughed, “Fufun~.”

“Because Sakuma-san is like this, Emma still can’t improve using the chopsticks. As of today, I shall be taking over as her etiquette instructor.”  
“W-what!?”

Overseeing this banter from the corners of their eye were the ‘D Agency members who exerted their skill from the results of their training to create a perfect poker face’.  
The world was pure, there were no traces of stratagems to be found.

* * *

Several weeks later, hurried footsteps approached the Greater East Asia Cultural Society and roughly swung the door open.

“We’re back!!!”

Emma halted her activities with the offduty D Agency members when she heard the nostalgic voices and ran to the entrance to greet them. Frate excitedly barked and chased after Emma with the rest of the D Agency members following at his heel, having recognized the identities behind the voices.

The men awaiting at the entrance soaked in sweat after carrying huge paper sacks, were Kaminaga and Hatano, who just returned from their mission.

“Welcome home!”

Emma pounced at them.  
Watching over them, everyone thought, “Because there’s someone there to greet us like this, we always want to hurry home.” and heartedly laughed.

 

ーーーーThe Greater East Asia Cultural Society had gradually become a ‘home’ for these men could return to.

 

As it was unusual for all the members to be together, they called in a cameraman.  
Even Amari managed to finish work early and had everyone gather in one spot. Of course, per Emma’s stubborn request, Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki also attended.  
During the time the camera was getting set up, two men weren’t exhausted from their argument over a certain topic.

“Even though I temporarily lost my memory, I still managed to split my consciousness so I never uttered a word about Emma-chan!”  
“Well I was given a truth serum by an enemy spymaster, but I divided up my memories, so I didn’t say anything either!”  
“But I bought more souvenirs!”  
“You-got-it-all-wrong! It’s quality over quantity!”

The argument and competition Hatano and Kaminaga had on their way back was now so low-leveled, you could only laugh at it.  
In addition, Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki’s comment, “Where did the expenses for the souvenirs come from?” caused a hilarious reaction of the two straightening their backs like a tense thread and reporting, “We procured them at the field!”.  
On the other hand, Sakuma was still lamenting over the fact that Emma is still wary of him.  
The cameraman notified the laughing group that the preparations were finished.  
Placed right in the center with Emma, Amari felt a mysterious sensation.  
A happy, strange sort of feeling where tears seems to spill out; his chest was filled to the brim with this unknown feeling. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it was hot and weighed heavily in his heart.  
Ah, he was happy.  
So happy, he would barely breath.

Naturally everyone laughed at him for not smiling enough in the photograph afterwards.

* * *

 After the photoshoot, Jitsui suddenly called out, “Emma-chan.”  
Situated right by his side, Emma wonderingly glanced up at him.

“Who does Emma-chan like the most?”

Jitsui jokingly said as he smiled.

“Everyone’s here, so why don’t we have fun and hear it once in for all?”  
“Emma will never marry to a spy!”  
“Come on, come on, Amari Papa stay quiet.”  
“That’s right, it’s just a joke, a simple joke.”

As the D Agency held him back, Amari quieted down.  
Whom will she pick?  
Hatano, the first person to get close to her?  
Tazaki, the first person to teach her something new?  
Fukumoto, whom she always helps out in the kitchen?  
Kaminaga, who played with her the most?  
Odagiri, whose soothing voice can lull her to sleep?  
Jitsui, who taught her a frightening technique?  
Miyoshi, whom she took the longest time to get along with?  
Or maybe it could even be Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki.  
Well, he expected it wasn’t Sakuma and carefully observed who would be caught in the gaze of those sapphire eyes.  
And the two blue orbs looked straight at him.

 

“Papa!”

 

His heart leapt at this unforeseen nomination.  
Feeling his face heat up, he covered it with both hands.  
**BA-DUMP, BA-DUMP**  
His heart seemed to explode from these intense throbs.  
Ah, but right now.

 

“....I don’t mind if I die.”

 

“Eh? Futabatei Shimei?”***  
“Isn’t that Futabatei Shimei?”  
“That’s got to be Futabatei Shimei.”  
“It’s Futabatei Shimei.”  
The men who weren’t picked poked fun at him as their voices happily echoed on.

 

 

End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *this also means ‘don’t adhere to’, ‘don’t be swayed’, ‘don’t be shackled’ and so on and so forth such.  
> **all three of them said this.  
> ***Amari unintentionally? said a quote from Futabatei Shinmei, a famous author and translator. Since the concept of ‘love’ came to Japan after the Meiji Period, authors of this era would translate it differently. So his translation for “I love you.” was “I don’t mind if I die now.” (because they feel so loved). 
> 
> Thank you for reading! I hoped everyone enjoyed this story! Don't forget to thank ゆいこ for this cute story!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading till the very end! I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter. I shall translate and upload the next chapter as soon as possible.


End file.
